NOT JUST A LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

As we finalised our August issue, we were deeply affected by the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests. As a result, Sarah Tomczak made a commitment in her editor’s letter to do better. ‘From now on, we will seek out and champion more Black-owned businesses; we will commission more Black contributors, and we will put more Black women on our covers,’ she wrote. ‘I know we are just a lifestyle magazine… but we are also a group of women and men who want meaningful change.’

Rebecca V got in touch to share her thoughts. ‘As a Red reader and mixed-race woman with Black heritage, I can’t say how much this month’s BLM editor’s letter meant to me,’ she wrote. ‘Red is more than “just a lifestyle magazine”, it’s a platform for change and a mirror through which women can see the world. It’s so important that all women see themselves in its pages and that Black women’s voices are amplified and their stories are told.’

Nadine B also wrote to us.

‘I felt compelled to get in touch after reading your August editor’s letter, the sentiment of which I wholeheartedly agreed with in these tumultuous times,’ she wrote. ‘I’m currently at home taking some much-needed leave after coming to the end of an unhappy 10-year marriage, during which I faced many challenges, including PTSD following the tragic loss of our first baby, which was undiagnosed for four years. The divorce process is almost complete and I’ve been forced to live with my husband in extremely hostile conditions while maintaining a civil and caring atmosphere for our two children. The Covid lockdown didn’t help, but I was glad to escape to work as a frontline NHS worker, which sums up how hard being at home was. This week, I ran a bath and remembered my copy of Red.

So far, I’ve been inspired to delete social media from my phone and visit Byron Katie’s teaching as

I step into my new life. You are far from “just a lifestyle magazine”, you are the encompassing companion and guru to the modern woman’s experience.’